Going Mad for Maths across Globeducate Schools on International Mathematics Day

Schools across Globeducate, in nine countries, marked International Day of Mathematics in April with a variety of indoor and outdoor learning activities for students of all ages, from Pre-School to Secondary. UNESCO held its first International Day of Mathematics in November 2019, basing it on the event that began as Pi Day in 2007, and it is now one of the world´s largest global educational events, connecting the global learning community.

“Since the earliest days of the ancient Greek philosophers, numbers have been a beneficial and challenging part of life and we know just how important it is for young people to see the relationship between maths and other aspects of life. Forming part of our STEAM curriculum in Globeducate,” explains Chief Education Officer of Globeducate, Daniel Jones, “We promote the true value of maths beyond concepts such as addition, subtraction, and algebra – our schools look for innovative ways to inspire a curiosity about maths in our children at all stages of their education. Whether we are looking at maths-inspired art and examining the geometry involved, such as Leonardo DiVinci´s linear perspective, or M. C. Escher´s fascinating combinations of 3-dimensional illusions in his black-and-white drawings, or if we are using it in music or rhythmical gymnastics choreography, our students learn to see the many impacts that maths has on our daily lives and the world around us. It has been fantastic to see all of the activities taking place in our schools; some also marking World Engineering Day which fell in the same week.”

So what did we do across our schools?

The list goes on but as some highlights, Nobel Algarve British International School primary students took shapes outside and looked for examples of these shapes in their school environment and in nature, and a similar activity took place at Granada College but for older students using Trigonometry principles and skills. At Colegio Areteia, students measured the playground and made tables and activities around linea interpolation, and ESO 2 students got involved with measuring using Thales Theorem.  Students also studied famous mathematicians and made 3D posters with shapes to illustrate Pythagoras´ Theorem.  Primary students at ICS London considered measurements and perspective, as well as abacus examples in some toy design!  Granada College also held a chess competition and an exhibition of simple machines, made by students. In India, TIPS Early Years students explored the concept of counting with beads and learnt about making choices and managing their time, also playing games of Hopscotch outside! Primary students learnt about classifying and sorting and Lower Primary completed a scavenger hunt using multiplication skills! Students also had the opportunity to take part in a photo competition, showing them getting creative with maths concepts.

What our teachers had to say about the day:

Joshua Turkington, Primary Teacher, Coruña British International School, Spain

“Graphing is a skill that many students have difficulties grasping in part because graphs often represent spatial data which students are forced to transpose into 2 dimensions. By graphing using a set of human axes with differing scales, students practise these skills from a different, hands-on perspective which helps the understand the importance of scale, plotting accurately and fitting a line of best fit.”

Jenefer Monica A - PYP coordinator, The Indian Public School (TIPS), India

“On the International Day of Mathematics, students of the Primary Years Program used their ATL skills to learn and apply Math concepts. They used several hands-on techniques to identify and relate Math concepts in the real-world. Some of the hands- on activities were sorting and classification to improve and trigger tactile function, identifying shapes, patterns, colours, and numbers in nature to fine-tune our observational skills. Students also applied their prior knowledge of measurement to measure and compare things in nature. It was a day, where every learner got to explore their skills and apply their learning in real-life.”

Paula Estévez - Secondary Teacher, Agora Portals International School, Spain

“International Mathematics Day at Agora Portals was all about having fun with maths. From a chess competition to photo challenges, they were busy coming up with representations of mathematical concepts, finding ways to reproduce these.”